Green Arkansas

Chesapeake Permit Rejected

The Fort Worth City Council decided last night to reject Chesapeake Energy's request for a drilling permit. This marks the first time such a request was rejected by the council. Local neighborhood associations opposed the permit.

A common plea was to respect a city ordinance that requires wells to be at least 600 feet from protected properties, including homes, schools and parks.

"I implore you to treat that setback as the rule, not as the exception," said Jim Bradbury, a past president of the Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Association, just north of Berkeley, and a member of the city’s drilling ordinance committee.

Councilman Joel Burns, whose district includes the affected neighborhoods, made the motion to reject the permit request. The site affected far too many people and was too close — as little as 225 feet in some places — from the nearest properties, he said.

You can get the rest of the story here. A lot of Arkansans are concerned about well pads or waste pits going in near their homes. This just goes to show you what some good old fashioned organizing can do.